Expanding file



s. scHElNMAN 2,201,547

EXPANDING FILE Filed Feb. 25. 1937 fkf 75 a+ 77 I ze ZZ Z ff ATTORNEY.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. .foZ fcez'rzmafz S. SCHEINMAN EXPANDING FILE Filed Feb. 25, 1957 May 21, 1940.-

Patented Mayzi, 1940 o y l 2,201,547 y Unire STATES PATENr OFFICE y 2,201,547 v EXPANDING FILE Sol Scheinman, White `Plains, N. Y. Application February 25, 1937, Serial No. 127,621

8 Claims. (Cl. 129-15) The present invention relates to files, and more or accordion type of envelope, or the essential particularly to files characterized by the capacity parts thereof, with a metallic casing OI file in' to expand or increase in size as the volume of the a novel manner, as will be explained below, a contents increases.k structure of ,increased utility is obtained. By

Expandingr or accordion files made of heavy combining these two le structures each is made i paper wherein the capacity to expand with into increasethe utility of the other and there crease in the volume of the contents is imparted results a durable and convenient le which has to the le by a plurality of pleats or folds at the the neatness and long life of the metal construcsides and bottom of the le or envelope are well tion and at the same time the expansibility and 10 known. These expanding envelopes are also pro- Wide adaptability of the accordion file. The l0 vided with partitions which 'divide the interior metal casing or le lends rigidity to and protects thereof into a plurality of compartments. Both vtheexpansible paper envelope; on -the'other hand, the plain .and the partitioned expanding enveu the envelope le enables the construction of the lopes have enjoyed a wide use for a long time metal casing or le to be modified to permit theV l5 largely because of their expansibility and adapfront wall to be swung forward to a greater 15, tability for many purposes. They have, however, extent, since the paper envelope or insert houses the drawback that they are necessarily made or" the contents and prevents their being spilled out relatively perishable material and in a short time or disarranged when the front wall of the casing they lose their original neat appearance. Also, is swung downwardly. This increased ampli- -.if one of these expanding envelopes has been tude of movement of the front wall makes the i() filled to capacity with papers and the like, in examination of the contents easier than was which conditions the pleats or folds are almost heretofore the case with a metal le and also straightened out, it becomes inconvenient to use makes it more convenient to insert and remove them with contents of smaller volume because papers.

the pleats have become flattened or distorted My improved file construction is of-particular 25 and are restored to their original condition only utility when a partitioned expanding envelope with considerable trouble. is employed, as the papers in the various com- So far as I am aware, the only attempt that partments become readily accessible when the has heretofore been made to increase the life of front wall is swung open, the individual compartj A these expanding paper files has consisted in ments being all opened to substantially the same 30 applying strips of reinforcing material along theA extent so that the file can be manipulated and pleats, generally in the form of cloth tapes or the papers inserted or removed with only one hand; like. These reinforcements, however, are inadewhereas with expanding envelopes as they are quate to increase the useful life of the envelope used today it is necessary to employ both hands for any considerable time, because they protect to keep the envelope open and even then the 35 01115 DOI'ODS 0f the ellVlOpe. Thus, While they insertion and removal of papers is made difficult reinforce the pleated sections of the envelope, by the faam-,hat the expanded envempe tends to they d0 not PTOEC the Original glaZed 01' Calencontract as soon as it is released. With my imdered surface of the envelope, T101' d0 they prevent proved construction the weight of the metallic 40 the Curling 11D 0f the edges 0f 'the flap Which in a front door acts to keepthe paper envelope open 40 short time makes the file unsightly.. n to, the desired degna Metallic files are also knfWn which are m-the The present invention contemplates also the gfg gpaxfpsglg grgolts Sfl provision of means for moving the front wall of in which the front wall is pivoted so as to swing Ehe Sasmg ,Epen losfltln uponflfltm lof tge forwardly to make the contents more readiy ove" as W1 e exp ame .more y ,e OW .y accessible. Files of this kind can be very durably refeenceo the facompanymg drawmg's Wherem constructed but their utility is limited because the Flg- 1 1S a Veri-'mal sectlon tfjken through my front wall can be pulled forwardly for only a Improved me m the Closed postlon thereof? short distance as otherwise the contents of the file 2 ShOWS a Side View 0f the file in the Open 50 Will spill out. Also, as the file is opened, the con- POSIQH; tents tend to fall forward in .a heap, making p Fie. 3 illustrates the manner 0f Securing thev inspection of the contents and the insertion and back wall of the envelope insert to the rear of the removal of papers inconvenient. casing and is taken along the line 3-3 of Fig 1; I

5,5.l I have found that by combining an expandbng Fig. 4 is a view taken along the line 4 4 of Fig.- 55

1 and shows the manner of securing the front wall of the envelope insert to the casing;

Fig. 5 presents a perspective view of a clamping plate for securing the insert to the front casing Wall;

Fig. 6 is a section on a smaller scale of a modifled form of the invention with the insert removed to show the linkage mechanism for opening the front door of the casing upon lifting of the cover thereof;

Fig. 'l shows the structure of Fig. 6 in the open position; and

Figs. 8 and 9 represent sections taken nea .r

the top and near the bottom, respectively, of the modified form of envelope insert shown in Fig. 7, and shows the tapered character of the side wall pleats.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral I represents generically an outer casing which may be made of metal, wood, cloth covered paper board, or other relatively stiff material, metal being pre ferred. The casing is composed of a front wall II, a rear wall I2, a fiat bottom wall I3 upon which file rests in the open and closed positions thereof, side walls I3a and a cover I4. The cover is pivoted to the rear wall I2 as shown at I5 and the upper portions of the front and side walls are bent back upon each other to form a reinforced structure as shown at I6 and are in- `wardly offset to accommodate the rim of the vlike attached to the insert which will now be described.

The rear flange I 'I extends downwardly for a certain distance, shown at I 8, for a purpose which Will be described below.

The front wall II is pivotally mounted, as shown at I9, upon the bottom wall I0, so that, upon lifting of the cover I4 it can be swung forwardly, almost to the horizontal position as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The casing I0 is provided with a lining or insert shown in the form of an expanding or accordion folder or envelope 20, provided with a series of pleats 2I which enable the envelope to expand and contract as the file is opened and closed. The envelope may be provided with partitions 22 which extend across the interior of the file and divide the latter into a number of compartments, the partitions being secured to the side pleats 2I and also to the bottom pleats 23, the envelope illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 being one of conventional construction. The front double-ply wall 24, 24a of the insert is secured to the front wall II of the casing by means of a clamping plate 26 which has a lip portion 26a. for engaging over the front wall flange I6 and secures the insert wall against the front wall of the casing. The rear wall 25, 25a of the insert is secured to the rear wall of the casing by slipping it under the downwardly extending portion I8 of the rear wall flange I'l, the rear wall being preferably secured in position before the front wall. If desired, the clamping plate 26 may be permanently xed to the front wall II, similarly to the extension I 8, but particularly when the insert of the casing is to be frequently replaced upon becoming filled, it

will be found convenient to have the clamping plate 26 separate from the front wall as it then facilitates the insertion and attachment of the new insert.

The front wall I I is provided with side plates 28, which, together with the front wall, form a hopper which receives the forward portion of the opened envelope insert and protects the front and sides thereof against injury. The side plates 28 fit closely against the side walls I3a of the casing and are provided each with a circular slot 29 receiving a guide pin or stud 3D extending inwardly of the side walls I3a. The slots 29 serve to guide the movements of the front wall I I and also limit the downward movement thereof to avoid overstressing the paper insert.

As will readily be seen upon inspection of Fig. 2, the file in its open condition presents the expanding or accordion envelope in an expanded condition in which the contents thereof are conveniently arranged for inspection. Because it is pivoted at its lower end to the bottom wall, the front wall I I of the casing has an unusually large angle of opening, so that the insert is expanded to practically its full extent, the weight of the front wall acting to keep the envelope or insert open, while the cover I4, at least to some extent, balances the weight of the material to the left of the pivot I9. It will be noted that even in the fully opened condition of the le the pleats of the insert are for the greater part protected by the side walls I3a and the side plates 28 of the file. While the partitions 22 are not absolutely necessary, they are very desirable, because aside from the fact that they divide the interior of the file into convenient compartments, they keep the contents of the file from falling forwardly in a heap when the front wall II is lowered. These partitions, in contrast to the known loose index or separating cards employed with steel files having forwardly swinging front door portions, do not fall forward upon opening of the file, but, being held by the pleats, assume more or less uniformly spaced positions in which they afford ready access to the papers stored between adjacent partitions.

In the construction shown in Fig. 6, parts corresponding to the parts of the structure of Figs. 1 to 5 are identified by the same reference characters. In this modified construction, means are provided for causing positive opening of the file casing upon movement of the cover I4 to the open position. This automatic opening mechanism may take various forms and in the construction illustrated includes at each side of the casing, a link 3| pivoted at 32 to the cover I4 and connected at its opposite end to a bell-crank lever 34 which is pivoted upon a fixed fulcrum 35 secured to the side wall. The other arm of the bellcrank lever is pivotally attached to a link 36 which is pivoted at 31 to one arm of `a second bellcrank lever 38 which is pivotally mounted upon a pin or stud 39 fixed to the side wall. The other arm of the bell-crank lever 38 is attached at 4I to a link 39a which is pivotally connected with a pin or stud 4I secured to the adjacent side plate 28. The side plates 28 may be provided with cut-outs 42 to receive the pins or studs 39 as the front wall II is raised to closed position.

Comparing Figs. 6 and 7 it will be seen that upon opening of the cover I4 the link and lever mechanism 3|, 34, 36, 38 and 39a is operated to exert an outwardly directed force against the side plates 28 and compels the front wall to open as the cover I4 is drawn back.

rov

My improved le has further the advantage that it `is not necessary toy employ the expansible envelopes which are now in common use. In fact, a type of expanding envelope can be employed which is of simpler and cheaper construc- An envelope can tion than the known envelopes. thus 'be employed which is expansible only at the sides, the bottom thereof being of fixed dimensions. This will be clear from the fact thatwhen encased in a steel casing the paper envelope does not expand in a direction normal to the surface of the front wall of the envelope, but rather in fanwise fashion, the bottom ofthe envelope remaining of fixed width, corresponding to the width of the metallic (or cardboard) casing, while the upper portions of the file expand as the front wall of the casing is swung forwardly. 'Ilhe pleats along the sides of the envelope can thus be of tapered form, being narrowest at the bottom and widest at the top, corresponding to the degree of expansion to which it is subjected at various heights as the front wall casing is opened.

This simplified insert construction is shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. As illustrated 'in Figs. 8 and 9,

i which represent -sections through a pleated side of the insert taken at a higher and lower point, respectively, the sides of the pleat increase in width, and-hence the side wall as a whole increases in depth, toward the top of the insert, as

can be seen by comparing the 4pleat sides 44 and 43. By this construction, crowding at the bottom of the insert 'is avoided, and the absence of pleats in the bottom wall vof the insert increases the capacity of the file, as no space is occupied by upwardly extending pleats. In fact, the bottom wall of the insert may even beentirely dispensed with.

It will be seen from the above that I have provided a combined file construction wherein a lining or insert in the form of an expansible envelope is made very easily manipulatable by virtue of the fact that the rear wall is held to the rear wall of the relatively heavy outer casing, while the front wall of the insert or lining is held in its extended position by the weight of the front wall of the casing and also by the weight of part of the contents of the file. It will also be noted that whereas in the ordinary use of an expanding envelope the degree of expansion is substantially the same at both the top and bottom of the envelope, in my improved file construction the envelope is made to open in fanwise fashion which contributes greatly to the facility with which the contents of the le may be examined. On the l' other hand, a modification of the construction of the outer casing is made possible by the presence of the expansible insert,4 the insert making it possible to pivot the front wall at approximately its lower edge and thereby increasing the usefulness of the casing, for it then permits a wider angle of opening of the file.

Various modifications in the dimensions and arv rangements of parts may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departin from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A file comprising an outer casing of relatively stiff material having a pivoted front wall adapted to be swung forwardly to expose the contents of the le, means for limiting the forward swinging movement of the front wall to a position short of the horizontal position, an expanding paper lining within lthe casing whose front and rear walls are attached to the corresponding walls of the casing, the side portions being capable of expanding and contracting as the front Ywall of` the casing is opened yand closed, the casing front wall being pivoted adjacent to the bottom wall Aof the casing, and a cover pivoted upon the rear wall of the casing and swingable rearwardly to substantially the horizontal position to aid in v counterbalancing the forwardly tilted front-wall.

'2. A file comprising an outer casing of relal tively stiff material having a pivotedfront wall adapted to rbe swung forwardly to expose the contents of the file, means for limiting the forward swinging movement of the front wall to a position short of the horizontal position, an expanding paper lining within the casing whose. front and rear walls are attached to the correspending walls of the casing, the side portions beingcapable of expanding and contracting as the front wall of the casing is opened and closed, partitions extending between the side walls of the lining, and a cover pivoted upon the rear wall of the casing and swingable rearwardly to substantially the horizontal position to aid in counterbalancing the forwardly tilted front wall and the contents of the forward compartments. 3. A file comprising an outer casing of relatively s'tiifmaterial having front, rear; side and bottom walls and a cover lpivoted upon the rear wall, the front wall being pivoted adjacent to the bottom wall 4of the casing and being provided with side plates having `arcuate slots therein, pins extending inwardly from the side Walls of the lcasing .and engaging within said slots to guide and limit the opening movement of the front wall, an expanding paper envelope having pleated sides and attached to the front and rear wall-of the casing, and partitions within the envelope dividing the same into a plurality of compartments, said-envelope, upon opening of the front wall of the casing expanding in fanwise fashion to expose the contents of the individual compartments, the cover being movable rearwardly to balance the forwardly tilted front wall and said slots being of such length as to limit the expansion of the envelope within the distorting point while yet permitting adequate expansion of the envelopes.

4. A file as set forth in claim 3, wherein the bottom of the expanding envelope is unpleated, and wherein the 'sections forming the pleats at the side .of the envelope increase in width from the bottom toward the top thereof, the depth of the pleated side walls increasing correspondingly from the bottom to the to'p.

5. A le comprising an outer casing of relatively stiff materialhaving substantiallyrectangular rear, side and bottom walls and a pivoted front wall adapted to be swung forwardly to expose the contents of the file, and an expanding paper envelope within the casing whose front and rear walls are attached to the corresponding walls of the casing but whose side portions are 'free to expand as the front wall of the casing is opened, the bottom of the envelope resting upon the casing bottom wall and being likewise of rectangular shape and of approximately the length and width of such casing bottom wall, and the sides Aof the envelope being pleated and the sections forming the pleats increasing in width from the bottom to the top, the expansibility of the envelope thus likewise increasing from the botl tom to the top.

pose the contents of the iile, and an expanding lining within the casing whose front and rear walls are attached to the corresponding walls of the casing but whose side portions are free to expand as the front wall of the casing is opened, said lining consisting of a paper envelope having pleated sides, the bottom of the envelope being substantially flat and non-expanding and of approximately the length and width of the casing bottom wall, whereby crowding at the bottom of the envelope in the closed condition of the casing is avoided.

7. A file comprising an outer, protecting casing ci relatively stii material having a iiat bottom wall upon which the casing rests in the open and closed conditions of the le, a rear wall, a cover pivoted thereon and movable rearwardly to approximately the horizontal position, and a front wall pivoted to the forward edge of the bottom wall, the front wall being adapted to be swung forwardly into inclined position to expose the contents of the le and into the substantially vertical position for closing the le, an expanding envelope housed within and protected by the casing and having its front and rear Walls attached to` the corresponding walls of the casing, the sides of the envelope being capable of expanding and contracting as the front wall of the casing is opened and closed, the front Wall having rearwardly extending side plates protecting and concealing the lower portion of the envelope, means arranged to engage the side plates to limit the forward swinging movement of the front wall to an inclined position, and partitions within the envelope and dividing the latter into a plurality of compartments, said partitions acting both to increase the accessibility of the contents of the le and to keep all of said contents except that adjacent to the front wall from bearing tiltingly against said Wall in its open position.

8. A le comprising an outer protecting casing of relatively stii material, including rigid rear, side and bottom walls and a front wall pivoted adjacent to the bottom wall and provided with side plates and adapted to be swung forwardly to expose the contents of the file, means arranged to engage the side plates to limit the forward swinging movement of the front wall to a position short of the horizontal position, and an expanding lining housed within and protected by the casing, the front and rear walls of the lining being attached to the corresponding walls of the casing but the side portions thereof being free to expand as the front wall of the casing is opened, said casing including a cover, and lever and link mechanism fulcrumed on a side Wall of the casing and connected to the cover and the front wal1 in a manner to force opening of the front wall upon opening of the cover, said cover being connected to said lever and link mechanism in such manner as to be capable of being moved rearwardly substantially to the horizontal position on being opened so as to aid in counterbalancing the forwardly tilted front wall.

SOL SCHEINMAN. 

